Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free) vs Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Side-by-side comparison of Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free) and Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking. Compare pricing, context window, capabilities, and find out which is better for your workflow.
Verdict
strong confidenceQwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking leads overall
Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking leads in capabilities and max output, making it the stronger choice for most workflows. Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free) remains competitive with advantages in price.
Best for with Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free)
Best for with Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Side-by-side
Technical specifications
| Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free) | Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Mistral | Qwen |
| Input price | $0.00/M | $0.13/M |
| Output price | $0.00/M | $2/M |
| Context window | 128K | 131K |
| Max output | N/A | 33K |
| Capabilities | Tool useVision | Tool useVisionReasoning |
| Released | Mar 17, 2025 | Oct 6, 2025 |
Scoring breakdown
How each dimension compares
Price
Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free) leadsMistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free)
$0.00/M tokens
Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
$2/M tokens
Context Window
Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free)
128K tokens
Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
131K tokens
Capabilities
Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking leadsMistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free)
2/4
Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
3/4
Max Output
Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking leadsMistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free)
N/A
Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
33K tokens
Recency
Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B (free)
Mar 2025
Qwen: Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Oct 2025
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